Monterroso 1

Melvin Monterroso
English 113B
Professor Mercado

Immigration and Poverty

In the county of Los Angeles specifically in the south central area Latino immigrants
struggle in poverty and lack opportunities to have a stable lifestyle they wish to acquire.
Although there has been a few helpful programs like the Dream act and naturalization; which is
the chance for parents of U.S. born children to stay in this country and continue their inefficient
lifestyles, it is still not enough help for the majority of the Hispanic immigrants living in poverty
who have the ambition to succeed and rise out of the pot whole of poverty. Therefore the
government should focus on opening more opportunities for the elder and mid age immigrants
who dont have the chance to study but still can provide for the well being of their families.
Having the government propose new opportunities for the community, many of the Hispanic
immigrants along side with the citizens of Los Angeles can surely continue to diminish the rate
of poverty that is endorsed in their communities.
One of the actions taken by the government to help the immigrant community is the
opportunity for them to stay in this country through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) programs. These programs
as stated in the resource paper Help with Immigration/ Naturalization by Tony Cardenas offer
immigrants the opportunity to get protection from deportation and work permits if they pass
background checks and meet other criteria. The programs contribute a great help to the Hispanic
communities that are in poverty like in south central, because it does not only diminish the fear

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of deportation but it also gives the immigrant workers the chance to have a work permit which is
a form of documentation they never had coming in to this country. Indeed these programs serve
as a step forward to open opportunities for immigrant workers to expend in the area of labor. But,
with this great help there is a problem that also is introduced which is the lack of job
opportunities the county of Los Angeles has to offer to the people. There are so many Hispanic
immigrants who face unemployment and at the same time there are many jobs that are overtaken
by these people who are used for their labor and adjusted low salaries. By having this problem
certain citizens in the area and teenage students can nott have the opportunity to gain experience
in the work environment and in many severe cases struggle to maintain their families. Therefore
having more job openings can diminish the risk of unemployment running through the areas of
south central and cancel out the margin of poverty also presented in this community.
The problem of having very few job opportunities does not only affect the Hispanic
immigrants in the south central area but also the other races that share the space with the
immigrant people. For instance in the news article Blacks: Immigration should not be at our
Expense Aubry expresses the fact that Large numbers of Blacks feel Latino immigrants have
encroached on their turf, not only because Latinos are being employed at their expense, but
because they also believe Latinos receive preferential treatment in other areas such as public
education and public services, to which they are not entitled. Therefore this creates the
assumption of Mexicans (i.e., Latino "illegal immigrants") are taking our jobs. Its already a
big problem that there a few opportunities of labor in the county of Los Angeles and that many
people fear like in the news article that the average citizen has to compete with these illegal
immigrants for job positions in which they both indeed need a lot to survive.

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Already with the problem of poverty hovering above the immigrant community now they
are forced to compete for job positions amongst the citizens in the area and amongst themselves
as well. That is where the role of government comes to play when they passed the Dream Act.
This act as indicated in THE DREAM ACT: GOOD FOR OUR ECONOMY, GOOD FOR
OUR SECURITY, GOOD FOR OUR NATION is a common-sense legislation drafted by
both Republicans and Democrats that would give students who grew up in the United States a
chance to contribute to our countrys well-being by serving in the U.S. armed forces or pursuing
a higher education. This act focuses majorly on the future of the young Hispanic immigrant
community, and by doing so it sets a whole new focus for the future careers of the students who
use this and diminishes the fact that the students wont have to compete for job openings in the
future and help get themselves and their families out of the poverty situation they are in.
Therefore with this opportunity it does not only focus on todays problem of the immigrants
education but it can also serve as a great tool for the prosperity of this countrys future.
Alongside with this Dream Act there are also various of volunteer programs that lend a
hand to needing immigrant families who wish to overcome their poverty dilemma and demand
for a better lifestyle. For instance the Immigrant and Refugee Services conducted by the Catholic
Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO) provides several of helpful services like
Immigration services where Immigration Services of Catholic Charities provides a broad range
of immigration counseling and representation to immigrants and their families. Also help clients
understand the immigration law, learn their rights under the law, and to complete the immigration
process successfully and their staff includes attorneys, fully-accredited Board of Immigration
Appeals (BIA) Representatives, a case manager, and a staff translator. These types of voluntary

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help that is introduced to the immigrant community is a great way to open new opportunities that
maybe an immigrant family never new had.
The lack of opportunities that the community in general lacks in locations like south
central sets back the community in a tremendous way because if the government played its role
in establishing many opportunities for the people then the community can work together to help
diminish the sense of poverty that is seen in these places where people have to find new ways to
survive everyday. If the government issues residency and papers to the immigrant workforce then
the problem of them having very little opportunities to succeed in their communities can turn to a
statement of change for the well being of their communities. Many immigrants are stripped from
many opportunities that citizens in this country have in their daily lives just because they have no
identification, papers to prosper to the fullest and then work as many of the entrepreneurs in this
country have done so well to make a difference in their communities and in their country.
As the problem of residency exist in the communities of immigrants the lack of
opportunities would not change unless the government des something for these people who look
for a chance to make a difference in their lives and their communities. Therefore with the help of
many charities and the governments power, this country should do for the people as the people
would do for this country. So by opening many opportunities to the people in need like these
hard working immigrants in south central, it would be a first step for change and a first step for
the abomination of poverty that persist in communities of needing families in south central.